The light that brought them back was the same light that took them away. Without warning, everything in front of them seemed to collapse, and they plunged into a deep abyss. They were trapped in a dazzling world, a very long corridor piercing through dimensions. The blue sky above might be the same as the sky seen in Cephiro, but in truth, now Cephiro had become a world that no longer existed in the realm where they lived. They managed to return to their world, Earth, in accordance with their greatest desire when they were there, which was: to go home.
Their feet touched the same place where they met for the first time and ended up being bound to each other by destiny as knights summoned from another world. They hoped that everything connecting them to Cephiro had finally been severed... Truly hoping so that they could continue their lives as if what they had experienced had never happened: Cephiro did not exist. Cephiro was not a real existence. Cephiro was just a dream. Cephiro was just a world behind a mirror. Cephiro was a fantasy; a terrifying fantasy, just a nightmare like all humans have experienced. Cephiro was an extraordinarily bad dream that humans could experience... and that is why, isn't it, that they shed tears without being able to wipe them away?
Everything only affirmed that bond! Their hands reached out to each other, seeking an existence that could be a hold and a place to depend on when their own feet could no longer endure following the explosion of events that struck them. They kept asking, was this really them? Were these really their hands that did all that? Why so brutally forced them to drown in deceit? They were still so young to feel the pain of a heart torn apart because of hands stained by the act of killing a human soul.
And this was not a game or as simple as they previously thought! Their tears could not stop flowing. They, without realizing it, had become the greatest villains. Their desire to save that country turned into a path of its destruction. They had done the cruelest thing by ending the life of someone who was the Pillar of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude.
The screams, the shouts still echo, continue to echo within the soul. They tried as hard as possible to cover their ears tightly, but all that remained was a deeper pain. Ignorance breeds regret, but even if they had known, what could they have done besides just freezing in place? Strength comes from courage, courage comes from ignorance. Acting is better than standing still, killing before being killed. Isn't that how it is? The cruel law of life drags people into tragedies that could actually be avoided. Why is it like that?
Since that day they knew what fear was, deep regret, guilt, and haunting sin. Since that day, they realized that tragedy was no longer just a story like in books, but a reality that would never be forgotten, released, or denied. Since that day, they could no longer be their old selves. The legendary Magic Knights, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji... No one could save them from the sorrow they felt, for Emeraude's death, for themselves...
And they cried, trying to comfort each other, embracing with equally shaken bodies. People passing by around them watched while wondering. Three girls from three different schools hugged and cried like three friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time. Tokyo Tower became a place full of memories for them, a place where they finally understood something that their destinies were intertwined. Now, besides suffering, they knew one more thing: friendship.
So, how many days had passed? Almost a year... they really counted it. Now summer was in full swing, both because of the always clear skies and the pleasantly shining sun, the flowers in the gardens and the cheerfully babbling ponds, the festivals and sports tournaments, and the atmosphere and spirit itself. Finding time amidst their respective busyness, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu decided to meet at Tokyo Tower.
Gazing wistfully into the distance, her mind was truly wandering... Hikaru seemed to forget and remain untouched by what was happening around her. The cheerfulness of the day, where people chattered merrily, shouted with joy because they were in such an extraordinarily interesting place, called out to their families or friends, pointed at something happening far away visible through binoculars, felt strange to her.
The sad smile on her face was difficult to explain. She longed for the past when she could be as joyful as the people she saw. She had known for a long time that she was no longer a part of those who lived with light hearts. She had become a stranger and raised questions from the people around her, her older brothers, and her friends.
What made the cheerful girl turn silent? What was she worrying about or thinking about so deeply? Hikaru kept it all to herself. Of course, how could she share it with anyone else? Who would believe in Cephiro, Cephiro in her world? ... Perhaps, except for her grandmother, who had passed away, who filled her childhood with dreams and fantasies of a world that didn't exist, and the two other magic knights who experienced that nonexistent world with her?
But, she couldn't be sure... Who would be willing to reopen past wounds, which they desperately tried to heal, by talking about it again? She knew what had happened to each of them after that day. And she faced an extraordinary dilemma... If she didn't talk about it, how could she end this suffering? Worse, she dragged the people around her who loved her into feeling sorrow because they worried about her!
Everything became increasingly unbearable. Hikaru truly felt guilty for not being able to say anything to her brother who had always protected her. She also always knew the worried looks of her other brothers, Masaru and Kakeru. She truly apologized to them. She lost her confidence... until the day her older brother, Satoru, approached her and gave her a sentence that ended her indecision...
"It's hard for you to explain why you're sad, isn't it? I understand, so I won't ask... But, someone needs to make a choice. Be responsible for what you decide."
That's right. I have to be responsible for what has happened, Hikaru thought then. With this, everything will return to its proper path, even though perhaps the burden of guilt will not be lifted.
"You look like you're about to cry..." Hikaru was half-dead with shock; someone suddenly embraced her. "Hikaru..." The blue-eyed girl smiled, trying to comfort her.
"Umi..." Following behind her, "Fuu..."
"If you cry, I want to cry too," Umi continued, shaking Hikaru's shoulder.
"You came..." Hikaru felt moved. She had reason to feel pessimistic if her two friends chose to forget this issue and not respond to it.
"You're not alone, Hikaru. It's not just you who is sad and worried about Cephiro... I am too." Umi hugged Hikaru and patted her back gently.
"So am I, and I also feel that I need to talk about it with people who can understand, to resolve it." Fuu looked at her two friends. "You. I really wanted to meet you, but I didn't have the courage to start. So, thank you, Hikaru..."
"Fuu..."
"It's really hard for me to keep all this to myself. We experienced the same thing, even if it is sorrow... We understand things that others cannot, even if they are our family. Since Cephiro, you two have become important to me. My sister, Kuu, encouraged me to meet you. Therefore, my resolve emerged..."
Umi sighed. "My life was a mess when I couldn't decide anything to fix this situation. My parents were very worried about me. I couldn't make them like that any longer. If this were just a regular love problem, as they thought... I would feel much better. But, it isn't."
"I keep dreaming about Cephiro," Hikaru said, breaking the silence among them. Umi and Fuu listened, pensive. "The world where we were summoned as its saviors... The volcano, the sea, and the land floating in the air... The world protected by the Pillar... Then, the battle we thought would set everything back to its place..." Hikaru looked at her hands as if there was something horrifying there. As if there was a knife stabbing her heart.
"... Princess Emeraude, the Pillar who maintained Cephiro's peace with her heart... But, with these hands... we..." Hikaru couldn't say it anymore. "I always thought that becoming a magic knight would make us heroes... But, I missed one important thing. I didn't know why Zagato caused that battle or why Princess Emeraude did all that... That was a big mistake."
"Neither did I," Umi said, expressing the same pain. "At first, I just always wanted to go home. Then I mastered magic and obtained weapons... We thought we were helping Princess Emeraude and the people of Cephiro..."
"That world seemed like just a game, but it was so real and what happened was not merely a fight between good and evil... A very cruel battle. We followed our hearts, but we caused a tragedy." Fuu also fell silent.
"It felt like the enemy in that game was our enemy, right? We were the heroes in the game, but our enemies saw us as villains..."
"That's why I made a decision." Umi and Fuu turned to Hikaru, looking at her with questioning eyes, then very surprised. "I want to go back to Cephiro."